eickemeyer



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

Patented Jen. 12, 1886.

(No Model.)

R. EICKEMEYER.

HAT BRIM G'URLING MACHINE. No. 334,221.

N PiTLnS. Phmo-Lnhngmplwr. wnmlugxm D. C.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-#Sheet 2.

R. EIGKEMEYER.

HAT BEIM GURLING MACHINE.

Patented Jan. 12, 188e.

um x

N. PETERS, Plwlovmlhographw, wnshinglm D. c.

IlNrrnn STATES ArnNr trice.

RUDOLF EIOKEMEYER, OF YONKERS, NEW' YORK.

HAT-BRllVl-CURLING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 334,221, dated January 12, 1886.

Application filed June 4, 1885. Serial No. 167,579. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RUDOLF EICKEMEYER, of Yonkers, in the county of Westchester and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hat-Brim-Ourling Machines; and I do hereby declare that the following specification, taken in connection with the drawings furnished and forming a part of the same, is a clear, true, and complete description of my invention.`

My said improvements are applicable to such machines as were disclosed by me in my Letters Patent Nos. 308, 758 and 308,759, dated December 2, 1884, and although hereinafter described in connection with the particular machine shown in said last-named Letters Patent, some of said improvements may be embodied in many machines capable of folding or curling the edge of a hat-brim inwardly upon itself. All machines having the capacity named embody of necessity some kind of a brim-bed, and in every instance known to me wherein the brim folding devices operate above said bed, the latter has been so constructed that a hat could only be mounted thereon right side up, and hence in all cases they can only turn the edge of a brim inwardly toward the crown and fold it upon or toward the upper side of the brim.

One object of my present invention is to enable such machines to turn the edge of a brim inwardly toward the head-opening and to fold it upon the under side of the brim, and so far as I know this service could not be performed in any machine built prior to my present invention.

The means by which brim-edges have been heretofore folded are widely varied in their character and mode of operation, and while I prefer the means heretofore devised and patented by me it is to be understood that certain features of my invention are not dependent upon the particular character of the folding mechanism provided it be operated above the bed, and is employed in the novel combination devised by me, which includes therewith a brim-bed having a central opening` to receive the crown of a hat, and thus enable the brim to be presented bottom side up on its bed, in order that the folding mechanism operating above said bcd may turn the edge of the brim inwardly toward the head-opening of the hat and fold it upon the under side of the brim. In this connection I have provided for the proper support of the hat and its block in an inverted position, and I have also so constructed my new machines that they may also be employed for folding the edges of brims on their upper sides, thus enabling said machines to be used for operating under the old as well as the new method. For enabling various adjustments to be conveniently made for widening the scope of these machines, I have devised a iieXible adjustable brim-bed for use in folding edges upon the upper sides of brims, and a sectional guide-plate, over which the brimedges are folded, this latter being` of service in folding the brim-edges in either of the two ways stated, and enabling its ready removal from its clamping ring and from a folded brim without detriment thereto. Various other minor improvements have also been made by me, which render said machines specially adapted to the proper performance of the varied service stated.

After fully describing the mechanism illustrated in the drawings, the features deemed novel will be specified in the several clauses of claim hereunto annexed.

Figure l, in central vertical section, illustrates so much of a brim-edge-folding machine as is deemed necessary for the purposes of this specication, the working parts thereof being shown in different positions for indicating their mode of operation,as whenfemployed for folding the edge of a brim upon its under side. Fig. 2,in similar section,illustrates the upper portion of the machine as adjusted for folding the edge of a brim upon its upper side. Fig. 3 is a partial plan and sectional view of Fig. 2 on line y. Figs. 4 and 5,inlongitudinal section and top view, illustrate detached section of a brim-folding ring. Figs. 6 and 7, in plan, illustrate the two parts of said section separated from each other. Fig. 8 illustrates a brim-bed essentially like that in Fig. l, but adapted for use in otherforms of machine.

Referring to Figure l it will be seen that the brim-bed A is annular, and has a central opening, a, and that the framing of the machine below said bed is annular in form, as at c', thus enabling a hat, B, to be placed in the IOO machine with its crown downward and with its brim b resting atly on the surface of the brim-bed A, thus enabling the edge of the brim to be turned inwardly toward the opening in the crown and folded flatly upon the under side of the brim. In this particular type of machine there is a hand-lever, C, having a pendent clamping-ring, C', and within this a pair of hand-tongs, D, are detachably 1o mounted, so that these latter may be relied upon for passing through a hat-chuck, c, and thereby supporting a brow-block, c', on which the hat B is mounted, thus preventing the hat from unduly sagging downward at its I5 brim during the folding operation. There is used in this type of machine, above the brimbed, an eXpansible and contractible brimfolding ring, constructed in complex sections,

of which two only are shown in this figure 2o at E, the one at the left hand being shown as it' about to move inwardly and the one at the right hand being at its eXtreme inward position. There is also here shown a flat guide-plate, F, which is carried on the clamping-ring G at its lower edge, and it is over the outer edge of this gnideplate that the edge of a brim is folded by the brim-foldingring sections Il It is now to be understood that regardless of the particular construction of the edge-folding devices, and of their particular mode of operation, it is a broadly novel feature to combine therewith a brimbed, A, Vhaving the central opening, a, for accommodating the crown of a hat and enabling the brim to be so presented to the edge-folding mechanism that the latter can turn a brimedge inwardly toward the head-opening and fold it upon its under side, and it will-now be clearly obvious that this portion of my inven- 4o tion is wholly independent of any special construction or arrangement of said brim-folding mechanism, or of any special mode of working it, provided only that said mechanism be operated so as to sweep or move over said brim-bed. In this connection Iv will state that I have heretofore used a brim-bed as a part of a hat-mold, shaped internally for thereception of a hat-crown, as disclosed in my Letters Patent No. 140,335, dated June 211, 5o 1873; but in that combination a bag-press was relied upon for operating upon the entire hat, including the brim, and the machine in which it was organized was only capable of turning the edge of a brim inward toward the crown and curling or folding said edge upon the upper side of the brim. In thus folding the edge of a brim upon its under side the inner face of the brim-folding ring, at the inner ends of itssections E, cooperate with the edge of .6@ the guide-plate F in causing the initial rect- "`ngularubend of the edge of a brim, b, as illustrated atJ' at the left-hand section E of Fig. 1, because as the hat approaches its proper position its brim. near its periphery, first bears upon said brim-folding ring, and when the hat is'further carried down said guide-plate carries the remainder of the brim downward Aflatly upon the bed, thus leaving the brimedge standing vertically, and in a favorable position for the folding-ring sections to engage therewith, as in my prior machines.

The oval guide-plate F, as shown in Fig. 3, is composed of three sections, of which two, d and d', are counterparts, and each a little less than one-half of an oval, while the third section, di, is much smaller and is located at one end of the plate. Each section is provided with dowel-pins d3, which occupy holes in the clamping-ring C', and said pins are frictionally or otherwise locked in their holes by spring-clamps (Z4. Heretofore I have used non-sectional guide-plates with fair results; but it will be obviousthat after folding the edge of a brim flatly the folded portion will be more or less liable to derangement in removing the plate. Vith the sectional plate this liability is wholly obviated, because the small end section, d2, can be readily removed initially from the ring and hat, and thereafter the other two sections can be as readily removed, leaving the folded-brim edge intact, whether said edge be folded upon the upper or the under side of a brim. In my Letters Patent No. 140,335, dated June 24, 1873, I show and describe a hat mold constructed in sections, to enable it to be readily removed from a pressed hat having a curved brim; but that hat-mold could, obviously, not be practically employed in lieu of this guide-plate.

For the purposes of this specification, it is immaterial in what manner the sections E of the expansible and contractible brim-folding ring are caused to move inward and outward; but I will state that, as here shown, they are thus actuated by means of complex levers c and a-vertically-reciprocating annular-grooved head, f, as fully described in my aforesaid Letters Patent No. 308,759, to which reference may be had for a more complete understanding thereof, if desired. The brim-foldingring sections E here shown are, however, novel in their construction, in that each is constructed in two parts, as variously illustrated in Figs. et to 7, inclusive.

The levers e of Fig. 1, as will be readily seen, project into and through slots in the top plate of the frame of the machine, and these slots radiate from two or more central points, as is necessary for working on oval hat-brims, and each lever e also projects into and is pivoted to a folding-ringsection, E. The improvement in this connection consists in having the brim-folding-ring section composed of abase plate, g, and a cap -plate, g', coupled together by means of clamping-screws g2 in slots, which enable the two to be variably adjusted longitudinally with reference to each other, and yet to render them practically solid when said screws are properly tightened. The cap-plate only is pivoted to the lever e, so that while the several levers are limited to a certain range of movement, the base-plates g, which are the working portions of the sections, can be advanced or retired with refer- ICO IIO

IIS

ence to said levers, and rmly set so that their inner ends will form the interior or working edge of an expansible and contractible brim-folding ring, which. can be readily varied in its outline, ranging from a circle, if need be, to any desired form of oval. rlhe cap-plates g', at their rear ends, have each a pendent tail-piece, g3, which serves as a guide in its frame slot, and a screw, gt, tapped through said tail-piece, abuts against the rear end of the base-plate, for readily advancing the latter with reference to the cap-plate as well as to the lever c, pivoted thereto.

Referring again to the brim-bed A, it will be seen that it is provided with holes occupied by vertical dowel-pins l1 and also with adjusting-screws t', whereby said bed may be raised or lowered, as in my prior machines, and accurately set with relation to the brim-folding ring, according to the thickness of the brims to be Worked upon. When a brim-edge is to be folded on its upper side, this brim-bed A is removed from its position and another used in its place, which, as shown at A in Fig. 2, has no central opening. If edges are to be folded while the brims are in a perfectly fiat condition, the brim-bed Al will be as thick as the brim-bed A, and correspondingly elevated by the adj usting-screws z',- but if the edges are to be folded while the front and rear ends of the brim are elevated and the sides depressed, in accordance with the method setforth in my said Letters Patent No. 308,7 59, said brim-bed should be much thinner than the brim-bed A, because I employ therewith a novel auxiliary brim-bed, 7a, lwhich enables the brim-bearing surface to be varied in contou r. This auxiliary brim-bed is composed of flexible resilient metal, is oval in form, and is secured diametrieally from side to side to the bed A by means of the several screws 7c', leaving its two ends free to be lifted or lowered by the adjustingscrews Z, tapped into the bed A, and serving as adjustable abutments or supporting-posts for the ends of the auxiliary brim-bed. This vertical adjustment of both ends of the auxiliary flexible bed for varying the surface contour of the brim-bed constitutes the gist of this portion of my invention. With such a bed I use the hat-block chuck m, heretofore patented to me, but its base has dowel-holes occupied by dowel-pins m, projecting upward from the center of the brim-bed, and as a novel feature its base has an adjusting-screw, n, tapped into a centralhole therein and abutting on the bed, so that said base may be raised or lowered from the brim-bed for accurately adjusting the po sition of the hat and its block with reference to the brim-bed. With these parts properly adjusted the edge of a brim, in a properlyheated condition, will be folded inwardly toward the crown and over and upon its upper edge, while the ends of the brim are elevated and the sides depressed, thus partially curling the latter, so that when a hat thus operated upon is removed from the machine and the elevated ends of the brim depressed, asin a Vth a machine thus constructed, and having itsinterchangeable brim-beds, a wide range of service can be performed with a minimum number of machines when my improvements are embodied in their best form; but it is to be understood that l do not limit myself to the interch angeable character ofthe brim-beds, because substantially valuable results will accrue if machines be constructed so as to operate solely in folding the edges of brims upon their upper sides, or solely in folding them upon their under sides, as now for the first time provided for by me. In this last-named connection it is to be understood, if the brim folding or curling devices are suspended and operated by mechanism above the bed, as shown in my aforesaid Letters Patent No. 308,758, and in which the brim-bed is raised and lowered on a spindle, that the latter may be coupled by a yoke to the brim-bed, as illustrated in Fig. 8, thus affording the central-opening, a, in the brim-bed A for the reception of an inverted hat-crown, said bed being coupled to the spindle o by the yoke p, the center of the latter being provided with a vertically-adj ustable cup-shaped rest, q, for supporting a hat at its crown, as indicated in dotted lines. lf the brim folding or curling devices be of that variety which travel around the periphery of a brim, the brim-bed, with its central opening and crown-support, would be used, the whole being mounted in the machine like the beds heretofore employed. If the brim folding or curling devices be of that variety which are stationary while the brim-bed and the hat are revolved, then this ,same brim-bed, with its central opening, crown-support, and spindle may be used; but in that case said spindle could also serve as the shaft by which the brimbed could be supported and rotated, it being thus made obvious that this portion of my invention does not relate to the particular character of the brim folding or curling devices, nor to their mode of operation, but to the combination therewith of a novel brim-bed, which is for the first time adapted to present the brim of a hat bottom side up to the folding or curling mechanism, and enable the latter for the first time to turn a brim-edge inwardly toward the hat-opening and to fold it upon the under side of the brim; and it will be equally obvious that the novel character of this brimbed, or of its combination with brim folding or curling mechanism, would be in no manner changed if it were vertically reciprocated or rotated, instead of stationary, as is preferred by me 5 and it will be equally obvious that said form of brim-bed can readily be converted into the ordinary or solid bed by filling the central IOO aperture with a solid plate, to receiveablockchuck, and thus afford the benefits due to some of the interchangeable features hereinbefore described.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. In machines for folding or curling the edges of hat-brims, the combination, substantially as hereinbefore described, of ahat-brim bed having a central opening for the reception of the crown of a hat and enablinga hat-brim to be presented bottom side up on said brimbed, and brim folding` or curling devices operating above said brim-bed and adapted to turn the edge of a hat-brim inwardly toward the opening in said hat, and to fold or curl said edge over and upon the under side ofthe brim.

2. In a machine for folding or curling the edges of hat-brims, the combination, substantially as hereinbefore described, with a clamping-ring, a guidepla-te, and an expansible and eontractible brim-folding ring, of a brim-bed and a flexible auxiliary brim-bed which is confined cent-rally to said brim-bed and is ver-y tically adjustable at each end, whereby the surface contour of the brim-bed may be readily varied.

3. In a machine for folding or curling the edges of hat-brims, the combination, with a brim-bed, of a brim-folding ring constructed in sections, each composed of abase-plate and a cap-plate coupled together and longitudinally adjustable with reference to each other, substantially as described.

4t. In a machine for folding or curling the edges of hat-brims, the combination, with a brim-clamping ring, of a guide-plate constructed in sections, each detachably coupled to said ring, substantially as described.

5. The combination of the flexible auxiliary brim-bed vertically adjustable at each end and conned centrally to the main brim-bed and the vertically-adjustablehat-block chuck, substantially as described.

RUDOLF EIGKEMEYER.

Witnesses:

H. LADE, HENRY OsTERHELD. 

